“How does that work? Trusting someone you just met?”
I turn to look at her. Her exhaustion shows—dark circles under her eyes, tension in the set of her jaw. But underneath it, something harder. Something forged.
“You trust what they do, not what they seem. Thorne could have let us die in those woods. Could have driven away when the bullets started flying. Instead, he put himself between us and Phoenix’s contractors.” I grip her hand. “But more than that—Ghost says he’s solid. Wants him to join the team. That’s enough for me.”
Thorne finishes fueling and walks to my window.
“There’s a diner attached to the convenience store—back corner booth has sight lines on both entrances. Make your call, get food, and we’re back on the road in thirty minutes.”
“You’re not coming in?”
“Someone needs to watch the vehicle.” His eyes flick to Cassie, then back to me. Something knowing in that glance. “Take your time. Clock’s running, but not that fast.”
He walks away. Takes up position near the SUV’s front bumper, arms crossed, watching the parking lot.
I watch him for a moment. The man’s not stupid. He saw how Cassie and I move together, how her hand finds mine without thinking. He’s giving us space to decompress. To just be two people for thirty minutes instead of targets on the run.
I respect that.
The diner is a silver bullet trailer dropped at the edge of the truck stop. Formica tables. Vinyl booths patched with duct tape. A waitress who looks like she’s been pouring coffee here since the Eisenhower administration.
Perfect.
We take the booth Thorne indicated—back corner, sight lines on both doors. I position myself facing the main entrance. Cassie slides in across from me.
I dial the relay number from memory on Thorne’s encrypted burner.
Three rings. Click.
“Designation.”
“Halo-Seven-Seven-Delta.”
“Hold for verification.”
Static. The familiar forty-five seconds of nothing while the system confirms I am who I claim to be.
Then Brass’s voice, scrambled but clear: “Halo. Good to hear your voice.”
“We’re mobile, heading west. Thorne extracted us—he’s solid.”
“Copy that. What’s your travel plan?”
“We’ve got three drivers—we’ll get it done.”
“Good. Don’t even think about flying. You’d be flagged before you cleared security.”
“Already figured that. Ground it is.”
“Get to Seattle. Whole team’s assembling. Whisper and Torque are landing tonight—flying back from Europe. Fuse is coming in from the Cascades. I’m holding down the fort until Ghost gets back from DC.” A pause. “We’ll do a full debrief when you arrive.”
“Copy that.”
The line goes dead.
I set the phone down. Look at Cassie.
“Team’s gathering in Seattle.”
